Lifting the Mask - Christmas One-shot
by XxXRainbowstarXxX
Summary: Its Christmas time, and the members of Xcution are all ready to celebrate. Ayane, a member for only a month, however is rather displeased at the idea. In reality, she is only concerned about finding the right gift for everyone...Exspecially that idiot Yukio. YukioxOC (Ayane) Christmas one-shot, fluffy. One-shot from 'To Hum in a Graveyard'. T cause I'm paranoid.


A/N: Hello again guys! :D To get into the Christmas spirit a bit, I decided to write a one-shot featuring the Xcution members during the Holidays. There are spoilers for my story, 'To Hum in a Graveyard' in this! BEWARE~ xD

Leo: But you haven't even finished it yet. -.-

A/N: Ah, but I DO have it completely planned out. Therefore, I know what the spoilers for it are! :D Anyway, the pairing in this is **(SPOILER)** Yukio x OC (Ayane). This could be considered a one-shot from THiaG, so yeah. ^^ Hope you all enjoy! Red and Review, please! I may add more one-shots later...

* * *

Ayane's POV:

It had been a full month now since I had joined Xcution, and, needless to say, it had been anything but all smiles.

Between competing with that geeky Yukio and avoiding being suffocated by pink via Riruka, I had had my hands full. Ginjo's tough training regimen had made it all the more difficult.

It was now December, and the weather had turned rather frigid. I had always liked winter, along with fall. Maybe it was the cooler weather that I liked about it, or maybe it was the rare chance to spend time with my family.

Regardless, Christmas had always been a favorite time of mine as a child, although over the recent years it had become more of a burden in my eyes than anything else. You have to stop and buy everyone something, and then have to worry about if you had chosen the right gift or not. It all seemed rather worrisome to me, and I often always felt drained after the twenty-fifth had passed.

Although, I didn't know if Christmas would be a concern for me this year or not. It was my first year being in Karakura Town, and I was away from any of my family members. Father was still at home doing God knows what, and Hinata could be anywhere. She always was a bit of a freelancer, and liked a change of scenery.

Sighing lightly, I trudged through the blanket of white covering the ground. Currently, I was heading over to Xcution's base for some training. School had let out for the holidays only yesterday, but I already felt completely bored.

Humming quietly along with the tune playing via my beloved headphones and iPod, I approached the apartment-like building where Xcution based itself. I stopped in front of said building, watching a pair of crows pick through the snow a few feet away thoughtfully.

Did Xcution's members celebrate Christmas? I couldn't help but hope not, for it would surely be a horrible experience trying to find everyone the right gift. Changing my selected song quickly, I journeyed into the complex.

Upon exiting the elevator, I calmly walked to the now familiar apartment. Not bothering to knock, I let myself in; still listening to music and wearing an emotionless mask.

I blinked in surprise as I entered the large space, stopping in my tracks a few feet inside.

"What the hell?"

The whole double-sized apartment area was decorated in shades of red and green, tinsel and ornaments adding to the scene. A huge Christmas tree rested in the middle of the area, brightly lit lights and a large star on the top blinking happily.

In my dazed state, I failed to notice Ginjo as he slid happily to a stop in front of me.

"Isn't it just great?" He asked cheerfully, grinning brightly. Snapping out of my shocked state, I started at him irritably. "I decorate every year for Christmas in hopes of raising everyone's spirits!"

Eye twitching in annoyance, I thought of how to reply. Yukio, however, beat me to the punch.

"Why are you taking all the credit? It's my money you spent on all this crap." He stated crossly, tapping away at his PSP's buttons as normal. "Such as waste."

Ginjo feigned a face of sadness before sweat-dropping slightly. "Oh, come on Yukio; don't be like that." He tried, waving his hands in a slightly defensive manner. "You're the worst of us when it comes to being merry during the holidays."

Finally being able to suppress my shock and slight annoyance, I pulled my headphones down over my neck and turned off my music. Putting the most monotone look on my face as possible, I cleared my throat.

"I guess this means I have to buy everyone something now?" I stated flatly, earning a small smile from Ginjo.

"Why of course! But don't look at it like that. It'll be fun!" He announced, earning a few glances from other members.

Sure, fun. But not so fun for my wallet. And I sure as heck wasn't about to rip off money from Yukio like everyone else.

I huffed in response, much to Ginjo's annoyance. Riruka smiled slightly from her place at the bar; doughnut in hand.

"Oh come on, Ayane-chan. I think it'll be fun! …Just make sure you get me something I'll actually like." She stated seriously, her eyes clouding over as she seemed to think of all the things she could get.

Narrowing my brown orbs at her, I scoffed. "You're only in it for the free stuff; aren't you?" Upon this, the magenta haired girl almost choked on her snack, sending me an angry glare. "You do know that you have to get everyone something too; right?"

"I am not! And of course I know! In fact, I've already thought of what to get everyone." She finished proudly, raising her chin in the air in pride.

Jackie laughed from her place at one of the leather couches, placing a glass down on the coffee table as she did. "I'm not so sure that's a good thing." She stated heartily, turning to address Giriko from his place behind the counter. "Eh, Giriko; what about you? Do you trust Riruka's judgment in our likes and interests?"

The older man stopped from his task of polishing a glass momentarily as he thought, before answering. "Not in the slightest."

At this, I couldn't help but laugh as Riruka growled angrily. The slightly older girl rose from her seat, before grabbing her doughnut box up as well.

"Fine than! But you'll all be sorry once you see the great presents I get you." She then left the apartment abruptly, final snack in hand.

Yukio let out a breath from his place leaning against one of the support pillars; pausing from his gaming momentarily to look up at the door. "Off to spend more of my money, no doubt. I just hope she doesn't go overboard with presents."

I couldn't help but agree with Yukio. Closing my eyes thoughtfully, I turned to our leader. "Anyway; Ginjo, I'm here to train."

The black haired Fullbringer's eyes widened momentarily, before he crossed his arms. "Really? I would have thought you would take a few days off to spend with your family and friends. In fact, I actually planned on giving you a few days off."

Upon him mentioning me spending time with my family, I couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. Despite my Father having been rather distant from me since I was ten, I still felt really attached to him. He hadn't stopped showing all signs of affection either, however. As a sign of this, I had received some money from him in the mail earlier this week as a present for Christmas.

Hinata had sent me some money as well, as well as a letter and postcard showing her in Alaska. She always had liked to travel, as I had said before. She was strange about where she travelled, as well…

And as for friends, I really didn't have any worth celebrating with in Karakura. There was Karin and Yuzu, but I thought of Karin as more of a rival than anything. Yuzu and I weren't that close, either.

Regardless, this was my first year being without anyone to celebrate with. And I guess you could say I had been really trying to ignore this. Until now, at least.

Instantly going on the defensive, I glared fiercely at the taller man. "Maybe I don't want to be with my family!" I snapped, gritting my teeth. "And if you're not going to train me today, then I'm leaving."

Turning on my heel, I exited the apartment building quickly, before starting to Bring the air in an attempt to get away quicker.

I knew I had overreacted. And I felt sort of bad about it…But there was nothing I could do about it now.

Pulling my headphones over my ears quickly, I chose a song and sped towards my apartment with the tune stuck in my head.

* * *

Yukio's POV:

I watched silently as Ayane stormed out of Xcution's base, face stoic as always.

Of course Ginjo hadn't realized it. I, unlike the others, had been in charge of researching our newest recruit before we approached her. She was in Karakura on a scholarship program, and therefore had no family whatsoever in the area. In fact, he closest relatives she had in Japan were a few cities over.

She was from America, so she obviously had no friends here as well. Knowing this, it was obvious for me to figure out she had come to our base today to train out of boredom…Or perhaps it was loneliness?

Despite all our bickering and even a rivalry between us, that was one thing we currently had in common.

We both had no one but Xcution to go to.

As much as I hated to admit it, there were instances that I would reflect on my Mother and Father and feel slightly sad. They never treated me as an equal while I was with them, which was one thing I wanted more than anything.

After I had had enough, I fled; taking their riches with me via hacking into their bank accounts and shifting it to mine.

They shouldn't have left me alone, and treated me differently from others. Like I was made of glass. A figurine, worth displaying and nothing more.

When I heard news of their suicides, I had laughed to myself. Despite my happy demeanor then; deep down I was sad.

That was another thing Ayane and I had in common. On the outside, she wore a mask. She didn't express anything true to herself other than her likes and dislikes. Perhaps it was because I also wore a mask that I was able to see past this side of her, and see how she truly felt.

She was sad. Deep down, she was silently grieving; the same as me. Although, her wounds seemed fresh; as mine were slowly healing over time. Only to be sliced back open as a memory resurfaced, that is.

"I wonder what that was all about…" Ginjo muttered to himself, scratching the back of his head in exasperation as he did so.

I pressed the off button on my game system, sliding it into the pocket of my black trench coat as I did so. Ginjo, despite his confused state, turned to look at me as I slowly approached the exit.

"Where are you going, Yukio?" He asked confusedly, knowing I rarely left the base unless needed.

"Out." I replied simply, turning the handles on the door and calmly leaving the base behind.

In reality, I needed time to grieve as well.

* * *

Ayane's POV:

I gazed down at the small snow globe in my palm thoughtfully from my location in a rather small gift shop.

After my little outburst at Xcution's headquarters, I had found myself melting into the crowds walking along the sidewalks. Not long after, I found myself in this small shop, browsing for potential presents for the Xcution members.

Sighing lightly, I frowned down at the smiling snow man inside the small glass object. I felt bad about yelling at Ginjo like that. To be completely honest, they were the closest thing to a family I had right now…And that was something I desperately needed.

Without realizing it, I had become increasingly attached to my fellow Fullbringers. I thought of Jackie as a mother-type figure, and Giriko more as that one weird Grandfather everyone has. Ginjo was more of a cheerful uncle or cousin, while Riruka kinda fit the part as the preppy older sister that always tried to baby you.

And then there was Yukio.

Although it would be easy enough to classify him as being similar to a brother, I somehow just couldn't do it. We were rivals, battle partners, fellow Fullbringers; everything but sibling-like towards each other.

Frowning in thought as I placed the snow globe back on a shelf, I left the store. Blending back into the crowd of the last-minute shoppers that surrounded the shopping district, I thought to myself.

But, what were we to each other exactly? Rivals, surely. But why? We felt the need to compete with each other, but for what reason? Was it…to impress each other? Or simply to prove we were better than the other?

I found my brown gaze drawn to a small shop's window as I passed by, my silent pace stopping as I turned to stare at its content. The window was cluttered with random items, no doubt being displayed in hopes of drawing in customers.

One item in particular, however, drew my attention.

It was a necklace, which was crafted of beautiful silver. A single charm hung aimlessly from the silver chain, it taking the form of a cat with headphones on.

Not being able to retain a grin, I gawked at the marvel of a necklace. I had an irresistible love of cats, and found anything to do with them enjoyable. My love for this necklace only further proved my point, as I pressed shamelessly against the glass to get a better look.

My spirit fell, however, once I glanced at the price tag. Grimacing slightly, I glanced down at my pocket thoughtfully. Unfortunately, I only just had enough Christmas money to purchase presents for each of the members of Xcution. I had to remember to thank Dad and Hinata later for the spare money…

Crestfallen, I applied my usual emotionless look over my features, before continuing on my way.

I really needed to stop gawking and get on with my shopping, anyway…

Unbeknownst to me, a figure had been watching me the whole time.

* * *

It was now Christmas morning, and needless to say; I was tired.

Ginjo had insisted that everyone come first thing Christmas morning to the base to exchange gifts, much to my annoyance. So, loaded down with wrapped presents, I kicked open the door to the base.

Looking around my stack of gifts, I made my way into the large apartment. I placed the packages under the tree with everyone else's, before taking the chance to glance around.

Everyone seemed to be staring weirdly at me, which caused me to twitch in discomfort.

"What?" I asked irritably, glancing from face to face. Ginjo sweat-dropped slightly, before laughing nervously to himself.

"Well…It's just that we didn't expect you to actually bring gifts."

Eye twitching in anger, I placed my hands on my hips. "What's that supposed to mean? I'm not totally thoughtless!"

Riruka laughed to herself momentarily, before waving her hand about. "Well, you _did_ seem even more opposed to this whole thing than Scrooge himself over there."

At this Yukio grumbled to himself lightly, before shooting the magenta haired girl a glare from under his cap. "I hope you do know you're talking to the source of all your money?"

Upon this, Riruka paled; before staring down at the doughnut in her hand with newfound interest.

Crossing my arms, I let out a puff of breath. "Regardless; can we get this over with?"

Ginjo, despite my non-too-eager attitude, nodded before we all crowded around the tree. They had moved the couches closer so that we could sit on them while opening gifts.

I had ended up finding gifts for all my fellow Fullbringers rather easily. All accept for Yukio, that is.

He, being rich, basically had everything already that I thought about buying him. Originally, I was just going to get him a video game and be done with it. But then it dawned on me that he probably had every game in existence. Money was out, as well.

Obviously, it took me forever to settle on something. Eventually, however, I found something I knew he didn't have.

Now, I could only hope he liked it.

Why, though? As far as the others' gifts went, I wasn't all that concerned. But as for his, I was extremely anxious as to whether he would like it or not…

Regardless, the six of us began to exchange gifts.

Riruka received a pair of pink gloves from Jackie, a spare hat from Giriko, a new purse from Ginjo, and a pair of boots from Yukio. She, overall, seemed rather pleased with her haul. She unwrapped my gift last, receiving a pair of plushies. One resembled a Chappy and the other Neko-san. Although she may not have known the anime series they were from, she still loved them; as they were 'cute'.

Giriko unwrapped a new suit from Yukio, a small cookoo clock from Riruka, a set of cook books from Jackie, a new set of eye patches from Ginjo, and a drink reference guide from me. Seeing as though he was always trying to find new drinks to serve us, he was very pleased with his presents.

Jackie was given a biker's coat from Ginjo, a trilogy set from Giriko, an alligator skin wallet from Riruka, and a set of several sunglasses from Yukio. I gave her a bundle of several issues of manga. She seemed to love to read, and found the manga as well as trilogy very pleasing.

Ginjo received a sword polishing kit from Jackie, a couple of outfits from Giriko, a ramen recipe guide from Yukio, an anime box set from Riruka, and a large gift basket full of various types of ramen from me.

When it came time for Yukio to open his presents, I felt a knot knit its way into my stomach. He unwrapped his presents from the others first, though; much to my happiness.

He was given a bundle of accessories for his PSP from Riruka, a new game from Ginjo, a new trench coat and boots from Giriko, and a strategy guide for gaming from Jackie. He acted moderately pleased with the gifts, but none to enthralled.

He eyed the last present addressed to him thoughtfully, before picking it up. The box from me to him was medium sized at best, and was wrapped in blue paper with white snowflakes spread throughout.

He paused to glance up at me momentarily, only to find me looking at the ground in thought. Without another moment's hesitation, he unwrapped the gift, finding a brown box underneath it. I eyed him from the corner of my eye as he lifted the lid.

His dark green eyes widened slightly upon seeing the contents of the box, which caused me to smile inwardly. He reached inside, pulling out a small piece of jewelry as he did so. It was a key chain, with a green space invader charm attached to it.

Having had to be around him quite a bit due to our status as battle partners, I had more than observed that Space Invaders was his favorite game of all time. Heck, his Fullbring even had 'Invader' in its name!

He blinked in mild surprise, before continuing to probe through the contents of the box. He pulled out a similar charm, only this one was of an eight-bit music note. His face was emotionless as he studied the pair of objects, which caused my already nervous stomach to twist all the more.

Glancing over at me quickly, he placed the pair of objects back into their box. I failed to notice the ever so small tint of pink on his face as Ginjo addressed me.

"Alright then, Ayane! You're next!"

Nodding, despite my worried state, I began to unwrap the boxes addressed to me.

From Jackie, I received a grey button up coat and matching scarf. Riruka gave me a trio of small cat plushies, and a set of matching stickers. Giriko gifted me a wall clock, which had a music note in the center. Ginjo had wrapped a set of throw pillows for me, one having a music note on it and the other a chibi cat.

Having unwrapped all the presents addressed to me, I couldn't help but feel slightly downtrodden. Did Yukio not get me anything?

Before I could voice this complaint, however, the gamer simply pointed at the tree and said 'Look again.'

Confused at first, I examined the tree and soon found a small box hanging among the ornaments. Blinking in mild surprise, I grabbed the box before sitting back down. The box silver with blue stripes, and had a black bow on top.

I glanced at Yukio thoughtfully, only to find him examining some of his gifts again. Smiling slightly inwardly, I began to remove the lid.

My eyes widened drastically at the contents of the box, utter surprise imminent on my features.

Inside the box laid the necklace I had noticed the other day, the silver reflecting the lights on the tree.

Gawking at the necklace, I felt scared to touch it in fear I would damage it. Carefully, I lifted the piece of jewelry from its confines, looking at it intently.

I felt a light blush come over my face as I glanced over at Yukio, confusion clear in my brown eyes. "How-"

The gamer cut me off, the smile clear in his voice. "You really should learn to be a little less obvious when looking at a window display. I thought you were going to fall through it."

Blinking quickly in confusion, I pointed accusingly at him. "Did you stalk me or something?"

"You're hardly worth that kind of effort. I simply happened by…"

Before long, the two of us were once again in a full blown argument; although neither of us was mad at the other.

Truth be told, I was blushing the whole time not out of anger; but of something else.

Reflecting upon the event later that night, I couldn't help but blush as I looked at the necklace around my neck fondly.

And just like that, I had found the answer to all my questions.

* * *

Yukio's POV:

The two of us pitched an argument with each other; it being the only way we really seemed to be able to communicate with each other. Through the insults, I caught the hidden sentences. She seemed to catch mine.

'Thank you…' 'It was perfect.' 'I love it.'

Although we couldn't say these things aloud to each other due to our individual pride, we both still knew what the other meant.

Sitting in my room later, I stared down at the pair of charms in my hand. Pulling my game console from my pocket, I attached the two to the ring on the bottom of it; blushing lightly the whole time.

We both wore masks, and shielded ourselves from the world around us. The evil, despicable world full of danger and fear. It was the right thing to do, right?

…Right?

Without realizing it, the two of us seemed to be slowly lifting our masks when in the presence of each other; the impending darkness of the world around us seemed to wither in the light of each other's company.

Perhaps…She wasn't the worst person to have as a partner after all.

And with that thought in mind, the dull ache of grief that I always seemed to feel was suddenly much lesser; until it was completely gone for a moment as I drifted to sleep.

Visions of music notes drifted through my vision as I fell into slumber.

* * *

A/N: Awww…:3 I couldn't help but blush myself as I was typing this! And man is it long. O.o More than 4000 words! Lol, but I think this is majorly fluffy. :P

…Well, as fluffy as you can get with these two. xD

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed! Review please! :D I made add more if you guys want….xD LOL, see you all later! And don't forget to check out 'To Hum in a Graveyard' to see the story this revolves around and for more of this pairing. :3 Also, there is a profile for Ayane on my profile. It contains spoilers for her story, though, so beware! xD


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